The resilience of deciduous hardwood forests with silvopastoral use with pigs
- Funding: INIA (National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology)
- Leader: Francisco Javier silva Pando (INGACAL – Instituto Galego da Calidade Alimentaria – Galician Institute of Food Quality).
- Sub-project at NEIKER: Isabel Albizu
- Implementation: 2016-2018
Description: An experimental module was set up in a Quercus faginea forest in the Otazu Public Utility Forest (Vitoria-Gasteiz) with the silvopastoral use of pigs of the Euskal Txerria breed vs a mixed breed (Duroc x Landrace), reared under the same environmental, load (8 pigs/ha) and feeding conditions, in order to evaluate the environmental impact and its incidence on the sustainability of pig farms in the Basque Country.
Objectives:
1.- To analyse the effect of grazing on: a) The growth of adult trees and the damage caused by grazing in the regeneration of tree species. b) The biodiversity of the vascular flora of oak and chestnut groves: composition, structure and spatial distribution. c) The soil component: fertility, compaction, soil health, alteration of the microtopography.
2.- To assess the resources of the Ibero-Atlantic forest: a) To quantify the production of fruits and/or understorey biomass; b) Bromatological characterisation of the shrubby / sub-shrubby and herbaceous strata and fruit (chestnuts, acorns).
3.- To analyse the carbon cycle in the system based on its estimation in the various components
4.- To determine the influence of nutrition in an extensive diet on the production and quality of the different breeds of Celtic stock.
- To evaluate the biodiversity, carbon sequestration and soil health parameters as indicators of the functioning of the silvopastoral ecosystem